Fulfilling a pope's vision

By Richard Gaillardetz

Published 4:09 pm, Friday, May 17, 2013

Pope John XXIII once wrote that we should not see the Catholic Church as some museum filled with beautiful artifacts but as a living garden, open to new life. That is the vision that led "Good Pope John" to convene a new ecumenical council, the first in almost a century.

Now, just over 50 years after the opening of the Second Vatican Council, Catholics are still waiting for that council's bold vision to be fully realized.

There are some Catholics who wish to minimize the significance of Vatican II, suggesting that the council brought about only cosmetic changes. Many others are simply unaware of what it was that the council really accomplished. To appreciate the council's importance it must be placed in its historical context.

The Catholic Church of the 1950s was not without its sense of beauty and order.

Catholics of that time were proud of their faith and had a clear sense of what made them different from Protestants, but that distinctive identity came at a price. Catholics saw their church as a fortress that protected them against the evils of a fallen world. The Catholic Church was the exclusive repository of truth and the sacraments were sure conduits of grace, even when celebrated minimally and in a language few understood. For Catholics there was little to be valued in the world outside its walls. They viewed Protestants with suspicion. Jews were held vaguely accountable for the death of Jesus. Members of other religious traditions were dismissed as pagans, likely to share the same horrific eternity as atheists.

In calling for a new council, Pope John understood well that 1950s Catholicism was no longer persuasive in a modern world. Of course there could be no compromise regarding the essentials of the Catholic faith, but he distinguished between the substance of the faith and the manner in which it was presented. Led by both Pope John and his successor, Paul VI, the council reaffirmed the necessary role of the ordained while celebrating the many gifts of the lay faithful. The Mass was not the priest's private action but a celebration of the entire people of God. Instead of denouncing other Christians, the council emphasized the biblical faith that Catholics shared with their Christian brothers and sisters. The bishops rejected anti-Semitism and insisted that God still honored the covenant with the people of Israel. They found rays of goodness and truth in other religions and even asked whether some today had become atheists only because Christians had presented flawed images of God. Finally, the council called the church to a more constructive dialogue with the world.

There is still much to be done if Catholics are to realize the council's bracing vision. Too many parishes settle for tepid liturgies and irrelevant homilies. There are still too many priests who assume an arrogant clerical privilege and too few lay Catholics who fully grasp their baptismal responsibilities to be a leaven in the world. Vatican II was nothing less than a "new Pentecost." Catholics must not squander the gift of the council but should dedicate themselves to making the council's vision a reality today.

Richard Gaillardetz is the Joseph Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology at Boston College. He will lead a day of workshops "Celebrating Vatican II" from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 25, at St. Joseph's Provincial House, 385 Watervliet Shaker Road, Latham. The event with lunch costs $30. Reservations, call Sister Katie Eiffe at 783-5209.